Thanks to Ruth for your helpful suggestions and for generally doing a wonderful job Beta-ing (is that a word? I need more beta-ing!).
He stepped onto the white boarded porch of hercozy bungalow, anxious to see her and hear her voice after the weekend he'd spent tucked away in the mountains, alone.
He'd thought that's what he'd wanted, to be far away from everyone and everything, but for the first time since he could remember the solitude hadn't managed to heal his embattled psyche.
All he'd thought about was her and how much he wished she had come with him this past weekend.
He turned down her quiet street just past twilight, just after it had begun to be truly dark.
She was expecting him; he'd called her on his cell about an hour ago to ask her if he could stop by and was pleased to hear the same anticipation in her voice that he felt building inside himself.
He didn't know when their relationship had become something more than friends and colleagues, but somehow it was now, and he didn't intend to shy away from that anymore.
They'd figure it out, he determined; that's all there was to it.
As he walked up to her front door, he heard a strange voice within, deep and menacing. He caught sight of a man through the window, looming over her where she stood. Her back was jammed defensively up against the wall; anger and fright were blazing in her eyes, mixing with tears.
He froze momentarily, transfixed.
Angry sinister tones vibrated through the walls.
"Did you think I was too stupid to find you? You always did think I was stupid! That's what's wrong with you, you always thought you could out-think me. Well maybe you're not as smart as you thought!"
The stranger raised his arm to hit her and the well-muscled soldier outside didn't waste another moment before forcefully kicking open the door and tackling the man from behind.
Taken by surprise, the big man went down hard, cracking his head on the side of the wall and falling to the floor, unconscious.
She burst into tears of sheer terror, almost too distraught to breathe.
Without missing a beat, he swerved and ran into the kitchen to call the police.
Very quickly he was back, securing the man's arms and legs just as he began to moan and come to. Finishing just as the man's eyes snapped open, her savior stepped back just in time to avoid a tremendous kick aimed at him from the intruder's bound legs.
"Relax, buddy, you're not going anywhere," he warned the man threateningly.
It worked for now and the angry man laid his head back down, breathing heavily. Blood seeped from a gash on his scalp where he had impacted the wall.
The soldier then turned his attention to where she lay in a crumpled pile up against the opposite wall, her blouse viciously torn from one side to the other, a bruise rapidly beginning to discolor one side of her face.
He hurried to her side.
"It's okay, you're safe now," he whispered soothingly as he reached her and without hesitation gathered her into his arms.
"Don't touch her! She's mine! She's a slut, a whore! She's nothing!"
She turned her face away from her rescuer, unable to speak in her traumatized state. She was ashamed and embarrassed to have him witness her being verbally abused by this stranger who, he must now realize, obviously knew her.
She knew there would be questions now, questions she really didn't want to reveal the answers to.
The trussed-up man was so angry he was practically foaming at the mouth behind them. Continuing to hurl curses and insults at her, he began kicking the furniture and trying to wriggle across the room.
Ignoring him for the moment, the soldier carefully inspected her for injuries and helped her to her feet.
"I think we should get out of this room," he murmured, leading her into the breakfast room where she could sit on a chair as well as be out of the furious man's line of sight.
Sirens were wailing now, growing louder with each second.
Within a minute or so, the police entered and immediately spotted the bound and frothing man on the floor and proceeded to take him into custody. Another police officer came into the kitchen where the two Air Force officers were waiting... the male with his arms protectively around the female's trembling shoulders.
"How about if we start with names? I'm Officer Bowman."
The officer took a chair and prepared to take notes.
"I'm Lieutenant Nathan Elliot and this is Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, US Air Force," Elliot responded and held out his ID for the officer's perusal.
Nodding, the officer wrote their names down and then continued with, "What happened here?"
Hailey said nothing, her eyes closed and her body swaying slightly, so Elliot shrugged and offered what little he knew from having walked into the middle of it.
"She'll have to come downtown and give a statement," the police officer indicated.
"How about I bring her in tomorrow morning. You've got enough on this-—man—-to keep him locked up for a while."
"Okay, Lieutenant Elliot, just bring her to this room down at headquarters tomorrow by 10:00 A.M."
The police officer handed him a card and stood up to go. "She should go to the emergency room, get her injuries looked at and documented."
"Thanks. I'll take her, officer."
They could hear the police officers scuffling and yelling in the other room as they subdued and removed the intruder.
Hailey shuddered, a huge spasm of a shudder, and Elliot held her more tightly in response.
"Yes sir, I'll see you both tomorrow morning. Lieutenant, I'm very sorry you had to go through this."
She nodded weakly in acknowledgment.
It was deathly quiet for the first time since Nathan had stepped onto Jennifer's porch, now that the crisis was over and police were gone.
He removed his flannel overshirt and gently covered her upper body, torn blouse and all.
She looked up into his eyes then, still stunned. He recognized that she needed to recover first and decided to not yet ask the questions that were screaming in his mind.
"C'mere," he beckoned.
She stood up and slipped her quaking arms around his neck and buried her face against his T-shirt, clinging to him and weeping silently. She swayed into him, unable for the moment to support her own weight. They stood there, oblivious to anything else for a few moments, Nathan unwilling to let her go.
But he was the first to pull away. "Hey, Jen, we really should get you to the emergency room. Where's your wallet and keys?"
"Over...on the table...out front."
He went to get her things, greatly relieved to finally hear her say something coherent.
He walked back over to where she stood woodenly in the kitchen.
"Ready to go?"
"I don't know," she answered distantly, but nevertheless she followed him out to the car.
As Elliot got behind the wheel and started the motor, reminding Jennifer to fasten her seatbelt, he glanced down at his hands.
They were trembling.
This emergency room was no different than any other they had ever been to, in that it was more than four hours later that Jennifer was finally finished being checked over and released. Elliot made sure the paperwork was faxed to the police headquarters for her statement the next morning.
Elliot had made up his mind about halfway through the waiting period at the hospital that she was not going home again tonight. He headed in the direction of his apartment across town, knowing she would probably not even notice in her current state of fatigue.
He was right.
She could barely keep her eyes open as he maneuvered her through the dark apartment to the guest room. He found her an old shirt and sweatpants and was even able to locate a new toothbrush.
Soon she was ready for bed, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring brokenly at the floor.
"You gonna be okay now?" he asked uncertainly.
"Nathan…," she started and then hesitated, looking up suddenly, her face vulnerable and forlorn in a way he'd never before seen. "You're all going to hate me pretty soon."
"What? I could never hate you, Jen." He sat down next to her on the bed.
"You will. I'm not the person you think you I am."
"Try me."
She was silent, and he could her hear trying to swallow a sob.
"It will all come out soon enough," she said in a defeated whisper.
"Look, Jen," he started, grabbing her hand and holding it firmly so she couldn't go anywhere, "I know who've you've been for the last two years, and I know enough about you to know that I'm not going to change how I feel about you, no matter what skeletons you've got hiding back there in your closet. Whatever it is, Jen, whatever it is- we'll deal with it."
She thought about this, and appearing marginally calmer, she flopped down on the bed on the brink of exhaustion.
Nathan slid down alongside her, his head propped on his hand, maintaining a warm grip with his other hand on hers. "So, try me."
"Okay." She swallowed hard. "That man that broke into my house tonight was someone I met in high school. His name is Geoff James. I was pretty rebellious in those days. My Dad had died when I was eleven, and my Mom was always working… and I was a very angry young girl."
She closed her eyes, remembering.
"I ran away with Geoff the summer between my senior year and my first year of college. Mom had my future all mapped out for me. I didn't want to have anything to do with her. Geoff offered me a way out and at the same time a way to piss off my Mom, which I really wanted to do back then." Jennifer stopped, tears welling up again, unable to go on as she relived the hurt she had caused her Mom.
"Hey. You don't have to do this tonight, Jen. I'm getting the picture. You can tell me the rest tomorrow, okay?" He smiled into her watery eyes. "So get some sleep."
Closing his eyes, he was soon breathing evenly and peacefully. Her heart was aching less now, she realized gratefully, as she too nodded off, safe in his arms
.
The police hearing the next morning was long and grueling for Hailey.
Elliot stayed with her throughout the proceedings at her request. What he learned was pretty hard to hear.
Geoff James had talked eighteen year old Jennifer Hailey into running away with him to Los Angeles. She'd been gone from her family, whereabouts unknown, for over a year. Her mother had not even known if she was alive during that time period.
James had morphed from a typical wild child fresh out of high school into a strange, possessive, control freak obsessed with Jennifer. He had gradually increased his control over her life until Jennifer found herself locked in a dirty one room apartment all day and most of every night.
When they ran out of money for room and board he'd let her out to do whatever it took to get more. Twice when he'd sent her out on the streets, she'd tried to escape, but both times he'd found her again.
She began to be afraid that he would kill her.
She desperately planned her escape.
One morning after he'd left their room, she carefully sneaked out, having taped over the deadbolt catch the night before while Geoff was asleep. She made it to the police in L.A., who immediately got in touch with her mother.
After a difficult and emotional reunion, she and her mother agreed to put the whole episode behind them, and she was accepted at the Air Force Academy the next semester.
The nightmare was over.
Or so she had thought.
A month after she graduated from the Air Force Academy, Geoff had found her again and tried to force her to leave with him. Her family had kept it quiet and helped Jennifer move to Colorado Springs, to a location only known by her family.
It had worked, until now.
The police asked her a few more questions concerning the details of the break-in and assault.
She was finally free to go.
Jennifer couldn't bear to look at Nathan now, where he stood waiting for her quietly by the door, as she gathered her things and walked out in front of him.
He glanced over at her as they walked to his car, his heart breaking for her when he saw her stony, hopeless expression.
Jennifer climbed into the passenger seat and waited while Elliot got in and started the engine.
"Hey," he addressed her as he fastened his seatbelt. "I'm still here. I haven't run off screaming yet."
She nodded, still visibly shaken and distressed. "I'm sorry, Nathan," she said brokenly.
"It's over, Jen. It's been over for a long time. You don't have to apologize to me for anything."
"But it's not over. I'll have to testify at his trial. All of this will go on public record. And this investigation, if they reopen all the charges against Geoff in L.A.? I was involved in some of that...I ... I should resign."
"What, Jen? No! We'll talk to General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill; there's ways to keep things like this from going public."
"Nathan, I lied to the Air Force Academy. I would have never been accepted if this had been known about me then. My mother was a willing participant in that lie. If I resign now, I may be able to avoid a court martial and the whole mess that goes with it."
"Look, some of what you're saying might be a possibility, but I don't think you're thinking straight right now. Let's take things one step at a time. General Hammond will know a good military attorney who can walk you through this, if it even comes to that. A court martial is not an automatic thing in a situation like this."
She looked out the window as he pulled out of the police station parking lot and got on the road. He could tell she was crying.
He reached over and captured her hand again. He'd been holding her hand a lot in the last 24 hours.
Elliot was thinking.
If Jennifer showed up at the Mountain looking like she did right now, it would definitely attract attention and start rumors flying.
Making a sudden decision, he turned the truck around at the next light, heading back towards his apartment.
He had some phone calls to make.
"Yes, sir, I'll tell her. Thank you, sir."
Elliot hung up the phone and turned to Jennifer, huddled miserably on the couch.
"Hammond and O'Neill will be here at 1730, Jen. That gives us a few hours. Anything you want to do between now and then?"
"Yeah, I want to go home and get a shower, then clean up the mess from last night," Jennifer said tiredly.
"I called the rest of our team. They're over there right now fixing the lock on your door and cleaning up."
"Do they know?"
"They know you were attacked by an intruder in your home last night. That's all I told them."
"Thanks. Please, take me home."
Nathan held his hand out to her and pulled her to her feet. But then he spontaneously swept her into his arms for a very thorough hug that communicated all his care for her and trust in her.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to soak in his comfort and to be bolstered by his strength.
Later that afternoon, after the two returned to Elliot's apartment for the scheduled meeting with General Hammond and O'Neill, Jennifer was feeling much better.
O'Neill was surprised by Hailey's story, but not in the way she had feared. He made sure she knew that he was going to do everything in his power to keep her career unaffected by this intrusion from her past. He told her that her contribution to the Stargate program was way more important that any mistakes she had made as a teenager.
O'Neill had teased her, predictably, about her small size that belied her feisty character, and offered the opinion that the intruder was indeed stupid to try to fight Hailey, the '4-foot-ten fighting machine.'
Jennifer left in a much better frame of mind, humbled and encouraged by the steady loyalty and admiration of her commanding officers.
Nathan dropped Jennifer off at her house late that night. He walked her onto the porch and wished her good night with a tender kiss on the cheek, after which he waited until he heard the lock click into place from within before driving off.
He was looking forward to tomorrow's briefing on a new mission and to putting all this behind them as soon as possible.
Jen was now fifteen minutes late to the briefing the next morning and still hadn't shown up to join her teammates at the briefing being run by Colonel O'Neill. They waited a few minutes for her, but then proceeded with a discussion about the upcoming mission.
The Tok'Ra wanted the T'auri to assist them in infiltrating a G'ouald summit, and Elliot was thrilled that he was finally going on an off-world mission. Lieutenant Hailey had scientific information vital to their planning efforts, however.
O'Neill was impatient at first, but that quickly turned to worry as more time passed, and he instructed Elliot to call her home.
Using his cell phone, Elliot quickly dialed, getting no answer.
As he was putting his cell phone down, it rang.
Looking quickly at the Colonel for permission, the Lieutenant answered, "Elliot."
"Lieutenant Elliot, this is the Police Department. I thought you should be informed that Geoff James posted bail last night. We tried calling Lieutenant Hailey's residence and received no answer."
"He what?" Nathan's heart began to hammer. "I didn't even know he could be released on bail. So where is he now?"
"Well, that's why I'm calling. We don't know where he is. He's not answering the phone at the number he gave us, and he didn't show up this morning like he was instructed to do. We're, aahhh, we're not sure where he is, sir."
"Something's wrong then. Lieutenant Hailey hasn't shown up at work yet, either, Officer." Nathan's voice was tight and barely under control.
"We're on it. I'll dispatch a unit to the Lieutenant's house immediately."
"We'll meet you there."
Nathan hung up and quickly related the officer's information to the others.
O'Neill was quick to respond, "Teal'C, Elliot, I think Hailey may be in trouble. Let's go."
The three arrived at Hailey's house at the same time that the police did. The door was open, and nobody was to be found. There was no sign of a struggle, but there was a rag on the floor emanating a sickly sweet odor indicating someone had knocked Hailey out and presumably abducted her.
Checking around the perimeter, an officer discovered a broken window in the laundry room, which was situated in a well-covered area at the rear of the house.
"Point of entry, Colonel O'Neill."
"Yeah."
They could find no other clue of where Hailey may have been taken. Elliot was utterly baffled and frustrated by this disturbing turn of events.
Knowing what he had recently learned from Jennifer about Geoff James and his history with her, he was also desperate to find her before it was too late.
By the middle of the afternoon, unwilling to wait for the police to track down the kidnapper, the SGC had come up with its own plan to find Lieutenant Hailey.
Teal'C, Bra'tac, and several other hastily recruited rebel Jaffa were awkwardly adjusting their earth clothes as Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter ran down the plan with their newly recruited, Hammond-approved 'search and destroy' team.
Elliot had dressed out with the rest of them, looking dwarfed alongside their massive bulks.
Zats were small enough to be concealed in regular gun holsters, but staff weapons had to regretfully be left behind to avoid attracting the attention of rank-and-file earthlings who might have a heart attack at the sighting of a real alien.
Tattoos were covered with black-ops stocking caps. The large, muscular, bull-sized men were intimidating enough in disguise, however, Jack noticed approvingly, as he put the finishing touches on his very own 'Get Geoff James' army.
"Okay, let's move out. Remember the rules- get permission via radio before you do anything. Got it?"
"Ughh."
"Hhmmpphh."
"Grrrr."
"Good. Get in the van."
Hailey came to in the trunk of her own car, her arms, legs, and mouth bound.
She was less frightened when she realized he'd used her car as the getaway car.
As long as he was driving her car, with it's built in homing device Major Carter had acquired offworld and helped Jennifer to install one Saturday when the two scientists had had nothing better to do, the SGC could find her location within about- oh say- three yards.
She stretched as much as she could in the cramped space, trying to see if there was anything she could use to cut her bonds. Geoff had used duct tape.
Boy, he was oh for two, Jennifer decided, spying a sharp edge on the trunk hinge and beginning to saw at it with her bound hands. The car was careening wildly down the road, making it hard for Jennifer to keep the sharp edge aligned with the tape on her wrists, and twice she scratched her arms on the metal as she was flung about.
But before long, the soft tape had been shredded and her hands were free. Within seconds, she had freed her mouth and legs as well. Her head was pounding from the anesthesia, but smiling grimly, she readied herself to take advantage of her new freedom at the first opportunity.
"Looks like James is using Hailey's car, yes!" Carter commented with satisfaction as she viewed the tracking program on her portable laptop, now sitting atop her lap as O'Neill drove the van down the highway.
"Take the van down the east highway. They're heading for Kansas."
Jack gave Sam a quizzical, half-amused look.
"No, I mean, the real Kansas, Scarecrow."
"Thanks, Dorothy."
"All we have to do is just keep following that little red blinking light." She proudly pointed the bright pinpoint on the screen as they drove.
"How's the boys in the back, Teal'C?" Jack called behind him.
"They are hungry, O'Neill."
"Uh oh." Jack scanned the highway.
"Colonel," Carter pointed to the left, "pull through that McDonald's over there. Take the drive through... we're in a hurry."
The teenager at the drive-through window listened patiently as they gave their order.
"Eighteen Big Macs, make that Big Mac meals...Eighteen super size coca-colas...just give me all the fries you got ready. Yeah, that'll do it, and make it snappy." O'Neill ordered.
Carter interjected with, "WAIT... throw in a McFish meal."
"A McFish meal?" Jack looked at Sam like she was crazy.
"Yeah, the big guy with the horse tattoo doesn't eat red meat."
"Right."
Jack glanced back and did a double take. "Put your stocking cap back on, fella!" He bellowed into the back of the van.
He caught a glimpse of Bra'tac swatting the huge Jaffa with a cap before handing it to him.
Within minutes, they were back on the road, following the signal Sam had ingeniously planted in Hailey's car, the deep-fat smell of french fries permeating everything.
"Take the next exit, they're heading north now," Carter instructed and O'Neill dutifully swung onto the exit ramp and headed out into the featureless landscape of a now much poorer road.
The chase became an extended game of cat and mouse over the next hour.
"Looks like they're turning east again...
...Now they're stopping...
...No, they're going...
...now they've stopped...
...Okay, looks like they've stopped for real this time; we're closing in," Carter narrated as she watched her laptop screen.
"We'll park here and go in the rest of the way on foot," O'Neill ordered.
The band of warriors emptied out of the back of the van and headed in the direction Carter was pointing them, Elliot fearlessly leading the way.
In a few minutes, a lone building had appeared on the horizon. It looked like a flight hangar out in the middle of nowhere.
"Let's go- remember, nobody goes in until I give the signal," O'Neill directed.
Within minutes, the building was surrounded, each Jaffa having assumed a position so expertly chosen and protected that they could not be seen.
The hum of an airplane motor sputtered and died out as they approached the hangar.
The door was open in order for the plane to exit the building. Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey could be seen in front of the airplane, doing hand-to-hand with Geoff James. She was winning from the looks of it, even though she only came up to just past his waist.
Half tempted to sit back and watch the show, O'Neill guiltily jumped towards the scene to help her when Carter punched him in the arm.
"Hailey!" He called. "We're here to rescue you!"
"It's about time!" She retorted, panting.
"Okay, get him!" O'Neill said into his radio.
The Jaffa roared into the hangar and easily tackled James to the ground. Bra'tac zatted him for good measure.
"Thank you," Hailey breathed gratefully as she smiled widely at the off-world army.
"Mission accomplished, let's go home," Carter said appreciatively.
"You okay, Jen? Did he hurt you?" Nathan was right next to Jennifer now, speaking softly in her ear, as close as he could get without actually touching.
"I'm okay, sir. Thanks for coming to rescue me."
"Looks like you were rescuing yourself."
"I still needed all you guys."
She waved her hand around at the crowd of Jaffa taking turns guarding the prisoner, whose eyes were round with fright.
"Yeah. Let's get Mr. James back into police custody while he's still in one piece." Nathan smiled triumphantly.
"What about my car?" Hailey asked, pointing at her little VW parked behind the now quiet plane.
"Colonel, Major, can you drop off Mr. James? I can drive Hailey home in her car."
"Sure, no problemo, Lieutenant," Jack was in full commando mode as he herded his private army back into the van and assumed the driver's position.
"Shall we?"
He winked and raised his eyebrows at Sam as she climbed up beside him.
Carter had the presence of mind to ignore him without so much as a hint of a blush.
Nathan and Jennifer climbed into her midnight blue car, none the worse for wear.
As Nathan pulled out of the sandy yard behind the old hangar, he heard Jennifer heave a loud, breathy sigh and turned to see her closing her eyes and resting her head against the back of the seat.
He reached over and took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze before laying her hand gently down in her lap again.
"What are you thinking about?" Jennifer asked him, seeing the thoughtful, slightly anxious look on his face.
"Just... close call, that's all. This guy's a real wacko. This isn't over yet, not by a long shot, Jen, you realize that, right?"
"I've got an army of Jaffa, and you, to take care of me. I'm not as worried anymore."
Nathan drove in contented silence while Jennifer dozed off next to him.
She had reached out and reclaimed his hand before she'd fallen asleep, and the warmth of her soft fingers in his was absolutely perfect.
Glancing over at her as he drove, holding her hand, he made up his mind that things between them were going to change after this.
They were going to change a lot, if he had anything to say about it.
A/N: I couldn't resist having the Jaffa execute a mission on Earth for a change. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone looking for more S/J, but there are a lot of parallels between H/E and S/J (at least in my mind) and I regret that the character of Elliot was written out of the show so quickly. I did put some S/J in there because I also liked the developing mentor relationship between them and H/E during Seasons 4 and 5. Who knows- maybe a nice AU story could bring Elliot back! :)